Remington 870 barrel

I own a Remington 870 and it came with a rifled barrel...I also purchased a smooth bore barrel for about $200 because ammo was cheaper. Both are 20 inch. I need a field barrel for clay pigeons, birds, etc. How long should it be? And exactly what is the barrel called? Field barrel? And can someone explain "chokes" to me? Thanks guys!

You will want a longer barrel than 20" such as a 28" for none other reason that your gun will swing smoother for bird or clay shooting because of the added weight.Chokes go from cyl(none)to improved cyl to modified to full and some inbetween those.You want no choke for a huge spread such as clays and a tight choke for a small spread of shot,such as a modified choke with buckshot for deer or a full and greater for turkeys etc.

It depends on the gun,Remington has something that's called a remchoke,and you can screw in or unscrew choke tubes in the muzzle of different sizes for different choke patterns,and yes,that type is at the end of the barrel and it's only available in a barrel that comes with a "remchoke".Older shotguns have something called a polychoke at the end of the barrel(muzzle end)that can tighten or loosen like a pop bottle cap and change the pattern.The more common and cheaper chokes are called fixed chokes,and all that is,is the barrel getting slightly smaller bore size twords the end of the barrel(muzzle),and those kind can never be altered to change the choke.

Yes, some are built in or machined into the barrels and some are screw in. It basically squeezes or "chokes" the shot just before it leaves the barrel. This controls the shot pattern, makes it tighter in other words. Ive got an express magnum with a full choke, most chokes for an 870 run around 20 to 30 bucks.

Here is the full choke out of my 870 express magnum, its a redhead available at bass pro for 20 bucks. Its flush with the muzzle when fully screwed in but there are ported ones that stick out past the end of the barrel but they are more expensive and not nessessary in my opinion.

Pay attention to what choke you get, mine is not for steel shot, but some are. Also you dont want to fire a slug through a full choke, ever seen "Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade" when harrison ford sticks the rock in the tank barrel? Bad things can happen. Slugs should only be fired from a barrel with no choke or improved cyl i believe.

A foster slug through a full choke shouldn't blow the bbl.
Might lead it up rather quickly or cause projectile deformation that affects potential accuracy.

Flush fit Remchokes are steel shot compatible, but their pattern ratings might differ when using steel shot (most are rated based on lead loads).
A "regular" full choke tube will give full choke density with lead, but probably overchoke with steel (use a "Modified" if wanting full type performance with steel). They make a "Full- lead/steel" tube that is a bit more expensive than their regular "full" ones, not sure what the internal diff is dimensionally. Still flush fit like a regular "full".

A foster slug through a full choke shouldn't blow the bbl.
Might lead it up rather quickly or cause projectile deformation that affects potential accuracy.

Flush fit Remchokes are steel shot compatible, but their pattern ratings might differ when using steel shot (most are rated based on lead loads).
A "regular" full choke tube will give full choke density with lead, but probably overchoke with steel (use a "Modified" if wanting full type performance with steel). They make a "Full- lead/steel" tube that is a bit more expensive than their regular "full" ones, not sure what the internal diff is dimensionally. Still flush fit like a regular "full".

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My full choke says "not for steel shot" right on the side.

Id rather not shoot slugs through a full choke, i have seen them blow, maybe not the very first time but its not good

You can run steel in a modified or Imp cyl Remchoke. Even in thin Tru chokes (like those used on the Remington Spartan/Baikal doubles- but they say only up to modified choke).

BTW, my full Remchoke says "full-lead/steel"

My Superfull definitely says "no steel".

I have seen a lot of fixed choke guns in full choke shot with foster slugs (not by me but others). Remington fosters used to be of smaller OD since people do silly things like that. The "new/improved" ones are of larger OD, comparable to the old Winchesters (which always seemed to shoot better).

Did the failures you saw come from choke tube or fixed choke guns? Was the damage from a heavily leaded choke or a clean one? Was the ammo from mixed manufacture, reloads, or even further broken down, from one lot?

One of my buds ran an 1100 with a modified choke tube and WW fosters, said it shot better than using the imp cyl tube (and leaded less than the rifled tube). 21" deer Remchoke bbl.

I don't think most folks would shoot slugs through a full, but in a pinch might grab a full choke equipped rig and try to throw a slug at a yote or something out a ways. Just whatever was handy type of thing.

Wonder..........if your bud that blew out the choke tube...........shot with the choke tube not fully seated (came loose in prev shots or was loose to start with).

The shot setup I use on my 870 is a 28" vented rib barrel (I have the iron sight 20" rifled and smooth slug barrels as well). For trap, I have a modified cylinder choke, for skeet I use a skeet choke. Both are from Remington and are $20 or less. I do also have a few other chokes of varying restriction such as a choke for turkey hunting, a couple of different waterfowl chokes designed for the BlackCloud shells, etc.

As for a wrench, I would think with the purchase of the vented rib barrel, you would get the basic choke wrench which is nothing more than stamped steel. Works fine for changing chokes as they are generally easy enough to remove once you can get your fingers on it. Another option is to get chokes with knurled ends on them such something like these:

Carlson's Choke Tubes. They are about $35-40 on average (cheaper if you can find them on sale occasionally at stores such as Fleet Farm). But, they add about 1/2" to your barrel and make it so you don't need a wrench to remove them. All of my hunting chokes are extended Carlson's. I also have a Mossberg O/U that I use specifically for clay shooting that I have modified and skeet extended tubes for. Far better than constantly using a wrench.

One of my buds ran an 1100 with a modified choke tube and WW fosters, said it shot better than using the imp cyl tube (and leaded less than the rifled tube). 21" deer Remchoke bbl.

I don't think most folks would shoot slugs through a full, but in a pinch might grab a full choke equipped rig and try to throw a slug at a yote or something out a ways. Just whatever was handy type of thing.

Wonder..........if your bud that blew out the choke tube...........shot with the choke tube not fully seated (came loose in prev shots or was loose to start with).

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He said it was all the way in before he shot the slug, but i didnt see it before hand.